Case Information
*1 .’ TEEA'ILTORNEYGENERAL
ozp TEXAS i 'Y AUBTXN. TeaEAs~
FAOAN DICILBON -dARW August 23, 1948 Hon. A. P. ititchell, Chairman
Board of Registration for
Professional Rngineers Austin, Texas Oplnlon No.~V-666
Re: The'legailty of paying salaries from an appro- priation to establish a library for registered professional engineers.
Dear Sir:
Your request an opinion contained the fol- lowing:
"The.appropriatlon Pbr the State 'Doard. of BeglstratSon for Professiona1,Englneer.s~ for the Biennium 1948-49~included the fol-, : lOWing:
'#The State Board<of Registration for, " Professional Engineers, havingelected,~to:~.' .
establish a library for registered,profesA '.'.
sional engineers of Texas as authofized by Chapter 571"of the' Acts~ of~the'47th DegiS~- lature, Regular Session, andhaving alfqcat- ed the $60,000 author$sed by the above,men- tioned~Abt of the Legls,lature for.this pur-
ose; and having expended only approximately 35,000 for this purpose during the bieinnium which the authorieation was made, is here- by authorized to make addltLonal,expenditures, in such amounts as will bring the total of monies so expended during 'the biennium 1941- 43 and during the biennium 1947-49 to ,a sum not to exceed $60,000. No part of this fund shall be expended for buildings;'
"This is carried as'Appropriati,on No. Y-157. The Board has elected to carry out then provisions set out in the above quoted ,. .,,, ‘I ;. .., paragraph. The purchase of books entails a
. c .
hon. A. F. Mitchell, page 2 (v-666) '
large amount .oS epecialleed~ bookkesplng~and other. alerioal work. *The regular appropria- tions for \$kthe ~admln%stratSon of the &glneer- lng Registration Act are not sufficient to provIde'Sor this extra work. .
vSpeclflcally, we ask for authorl8atlon to~secure additional assistance ior the nec- ebaary bookkeeping aad~alerlcal~work and to pay for euah astilstance.rrom appr~priatlon Ho.
Y-15? the %glneers' Library.,
'&e Sollowlng provision 1s also~~lncluUed~ln the appropriation for the Board of Registration for Pro- Seaslon8l Engineers: ..-
'1.3. Contingent Expense, Surety Bonds; Hem&
,bershlps, Special or Emerg ncy Assist; % 3,ooo.oo. -08 Sen8te Bill 391, general and Special L8wa of Texas, 50th Legislature, page
Vhether‘sny p8rt of the appropriation msde for the llbr8l'y csn.be used for the p8yment of expenses for the purpom mentioned Su your request depends upon the .' lntentlon~of the Leglsleture 8s mnlfested-I.8 the sppro- priations he&e for the Board. %sre-OS the opinlon'thst the Leglslatnre did not. Intend that any p8rt of the li-' brarysppropriatlons be-used .for..the payment. of -such e%- phseti and tkat:sualr payments'asn not be Issde."OuUoon- ClUBiOn f.8 b8Sed, in p8&, UpOn the S8et that.88 Sppl@O- prlatlon~h8s .been.-m8de expressly 8uthoFielng psyment for the type-of ssslst8noe mentlaned 'in yoim .zlequest. Item 1-j oS.,the spproprlation for the BOSld ppovldes, among other things, for 'Speoial Assistance"~ 8nd ve..belleve th8t the moneyapgropM..ated thewti 088 be used~for the. purpose o? paying for extra olerlo81 and bookkeeping as- slstanoe Ipade necessary by the purohsse of' book8 for the englneerst Ilbre
P1)r$~iiinent to the question bed!& oonqidQed &I Subtiectlon -f of:Seatlon 3.4 of the Oeneral ProvIsIons Bill State Depart- ;~~;h$t;i~~;~~la~lon Id subsection provides tlmt. "Hone of the Suuds hereinabove a ro-- prlated .Sor 'Contingent expenses' or Rain- tensnoe'snd Mleoellaneousl shall be used the payment of any s818rles unless spealfl- *3 Hon. A. F. Mitchell, page (v-666)
cally authorized to be paid in the~ltemisa- tion under the Contingent, &intenance Snd &EWellaneous Items herek-nabove set out and ted therein a8 tsalarle8-', '.'extra desl F help . or '8e880~1 18bOr'." Senate Bill 391, General and Special Laws of Texas, 50th kIgiSlStuZre, page
'Phe provisions of the above quoted Subsection do not prohibit the U8e of the funds appropriated in item 13 of the appropriation for the Board.for a pur- pose such a8 the-one here under consideration. Item 13 1s our opinion, thereforei th8t the Board may m8ke pro- vision for such bookkeeping and oler+zal Bsslstance as 1s neoessary in the pureh8sing of books for the engineers' library and although it cannot pay for s8me out OS the appropriation for the library, It m@ make expenditures 0s the appropriation in Item 13 for any 8mount8 neces- b8l'y to p8r for such 88SiSt8nGe.
The Boatid of Begistratlon for Profes- may.make provision BiO%X%1-&1gineerB such bookkeeping Snd oleria81 8sBiBt8We se
is-neoessarg ln.the purch8sing of books'sor a&z.ggys) library authorlsed by,the Lag-
The Board may not use sny p8rt 0s the llbr&y~appropriation to pay this extra help but may make expenditures of an item~in the appropriation for the:fjosI?d which
rovide8, ~moa@ other things, fog Special f 88iSt8Me for 8ny 8mounts necessary to p8g for such sesistanoe.
Yours very truly, ATTORNEY %3EfbU OF TEXAS APPROVED: CBK:mw